February 5, 2026 by Cogent Solutions Engineering
Everything is going online! That is what everyone was saying in the early 2000s, when the Internet was new. Now in 2026, data storage and processing are going online – to the cloud. Using a cloud provider gives you the flexibility to expand as you need and deploy updates faster. It can also help you embrace new technology like AI.
Cloud service providers offer flexible solutions and allow for rapid prototyping and deployment of new applications and services. This creates a rapidly changing environment, where corporate networks are requested to support changes at short notice. Utilization scenarios reflect a wide variety of requirements, such as:
- Business critical applications running from the cloud with highly secure configurations
- Multiple cloud services used in parallel, e.g. with some apps on AWS and some on MS Azure
- Non business critical applications accessed over the Internet
- Cloud deployment backed-up with dedicated hosting
- Rapidly changing traffic flows and connectivity requirements
Seamless scalable connectivity to the cloud and tailoring connectivity solution to your needs, this is where Cogent comes into play: all Cogent products are optimized for connectivity the cloud.
If you are looking for a simple bandwidth option, Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) is a straightforward option that enables connectivity to the major cloud providers. Every single DIA port from any data center benefits from the full Cogent Internet connectivity, with all major cloud providers in all regions available at short reach.
If you need to secure your protect data within your corporate network, you can utilize Cogent Cloud Connect – which connects you securely to major cloud providers using our VPN products or Optical Wavelengths. Diverse connectivity options are available for maximum availability.
When you use one of our VPN products – Ethernet Point-to-Point, VPLS, or MPLS IP-VPN – you have two options for cloud connectivity – hosted or dedicated.
- With the Cogent-preferred hosted option, you connect through a Cogent port on a pre-provisioned NNI to the cloud provider. Activation of your port on the pre-provisioned NNI allows for the fastest install, without additional cross-connect charges, and typically lower traffic rates from the cloud service. You can also select a port speed in small increments according to your actual needs instead of matching a physical port size.
- With the dedicated option, Cogent transports your data to a dedicated port onto the cloud infrastructure. This choice becomes efficient for high throughput traffic flows or highly customized network and application requirements.
An Optical Wavelength is a strong choice if you want to connect your cloud environment to your network backbone. The connection is similar to the dedicated VPN option, but it is done at the fastest speeds. Most cloud data centers in North America can accept 100G waves into their infrastructure, with select facilities that can accommodate a 400G wave. The dense topology of the Cogent wave network in North America allows for the shortest routes and for diverse solutions.
Multiple Cogent options are typically combined into a customer network, with a solution design adapting to evolving needs. The picture above shows a case study, with two major customer data centers connected to each other and to the cloud with Optical Wavelengths for the highest throughput. Office locations use Cogent VPN services for both the corporate network and for secure cloud connectivity; Internet connectivity support non business critical applications. Using Cogent's Colocation and Utility Computing services for critical data backup on hardware fully controlled by the customer.
No matter what cloud provider you choose for your applications and data storage, Cogent can offer a comprehensive set of connectivity options to meet your requirements, from rapid prototyping of new applications to large scale growth of production environments. With Cogent connectivity, your applications remain available and don’t stall when your end-users and you customers need them.
About the Author:
The Cogent Solutions Engineering team is a group of experienced, technically-versed and business-minded individuals who understand the challenges facing our global customer base, and how Cogent’s set or products and services can address these, from their daily involvement in customer conversations, review of individual customer requirements, solution design, and resulting product development initiatives.